September 2009 is National Pet Health Insurance Month, and the North American Pet Health Insurance Association invites pet owners to submit stories of how pet health insurance has helped them in a situation when their pet was in need of medical care. Here is a selection of some of the submissions that we have received to date:
Kim and Madison
Our Rottweiler, Tahlula, was adopted in Fall of 2006 from the local shelter. About 4 years old, she had been neglected and was emaciated, so it was clear to us that it would take some time and patience to acclimate her into our home. To be safe, we purchased an insurance policy for her, since her medical history was questionable. She’s never required any training (she’s been nothing but sweet since the day we brought her home) but her health issues would prove to be difficult.
About 4 months later, she’d regained her weight, and then some. Having been starved in the past, she jumped from 57 pounds all the way up to 84! Just when we thought her health issues were over poor Lula began limping, favoring one rear leg, then the other. We took her to a vet that remarked “I don’t know what we’re going to do for her, but we’ll figure out something.” X-rays showed not one, but two torn cruciate ligaments. Her weight gain had caused a strain on her joints. Furthermore, they found mild hip dysplasia. We were referred to an orthopedic surgeon that recommended we do a bilateral surgery-repair both knees at once. This was not an easy decision, but we felt that one surgery and one recovery was better than two separate procedures. Seeing her in pain after that procedure was excruciating. But imagine our surprise when we heard her climbing up the stairs-only one day after surgery! She quickly managed to maneuver well on just her front legs, and about 6 weeks later, she was beginning to use both legs evenly again.
As soon as I heard the estimate for that surgery a light went off in my head- I realized that it was situations like this that made pet insurance necessary. The insurance was truly a lifesaver. As much as we already loved her, I don’t know how we could have pulled together $3500 for the surgery, not sure of what her overall prognosis might be. Furthermore, my Fiancé and I were in the process of planning and paying for our wedding—we would have had to make a decision on what costs could be covered in either area. I don’t know what we would have done, but fortunately, the policy eliminated any financial concerns. In total, the insurance paid $2,708.00 (out of a total $3500) for her diagnostics, knee surgery, pain medications, and follow up visits. And it’s been paying for her hip dysplasia pain medication ever since too.
Tahlula’s health was overall improved after her knee surgery, and we were just beginning to forget about that painful time, when she took another turn for the worse. In December 2008 she quite suddenly lost the mobility in both rear legs, and even one foreleg. It started with a strange gait, and within 48 hours had progressed dramatically. This sudden problem was confusing for us, as well as for her, because while she didn’t seem to be in pain, her legs were not cooperating with her. She’d struggle to stand, and once she got up she’d fall over, like a newborn calf. I knew something was terribly wrong, so we got her to her vet, where she was diagnosed with a bulging disc. The vet prescribed a steroid, but he seemed apprehensive about whether or not the medication would be enough to alleviate the swelling, and help her regain her mobility. As I mentioned earlier, she was over eighty pounds at this point, and it was tough for us to carry her. I asked if there was anything else we could do to avoid another surgery. Imagine my surprise when he recommended aqua-treadmill therapy! A week later she started her workouts in what we called the “doggie spa”. The water treadmill would help her rebuild the lost muscle and her mobility. At first, she only did about slow 3 minutes, and had to be held up by the therapist. But, we went nearly every week for 6 months, and by the end she could walk about 14 minutes, totally unassisted. She gained 3 inches of muscle in each rear leg-the therapist said that was a record!
Again-the insurance had saved us! Not only did the insurance cover the diagnostics and her weekly therapy, but more importantly, we never had to choose the treatment based on what they would (or wouldn’t) cover, or what we could afford. Because Embrace covered the alternative therapy, we didn’t have to take a “wait and see” approach, and plan for surgery. Tahlula avoided surgery, and we avoided a financial burden. It was such a relief knowing that she was in good hands, with the vets, and with her insurer.
Tahlula is better than ever now. She’s 7 years old, but plays and goofs around like a young dog, which is something I wasn’t sure we’d ever get to see.
Jodi, Bailey and Smudge
My name is Jodi Levitan and I am the proud and loving mommy of Bailey (my mixed breed dog) and of Smudge (the kitten I recently rescued from the engine of my car)
About seven months after losing my first dog Louie, someone that I worked with at the time brought a tiny puppy to the office that he had seen get hit by a car the night before.
He took her into a local vet that night who took a quick look at her and declared "fine", and he was now looking for someone to adopt her.
As soon as I saw her, I noticed that she had a pot belly, and that her gums and tongue were white! I knew that she was not "fine" and immediately brought her to my veterinarian,
Dr. Jean Burns of Floresta Animal Hospital, where my fears were confirmed; although she had no serious injuries from being hit by the car, she was full of worms!
She was so sick in fact, that Dr. Burns did not think the puppy was likely to survive the weekend. We treated her anyway and between the medication,
good food, and lots of TLC, within a few weeks she had not only survived, but she was very healthy and had stolen my heart!
I knew that she'd be mine forever, so after I gave her a proper name, I contacted a pet insurance company and got Bailey, the previously homeless street puppy, insured.
I did not have pet insurance for my first beloved dog, and realized too late the importance of having such a policy. Although money was tight, Bailey's health was too important to me to take any
chances, so having Pet insurance was a must!
The happy, healthy puppy and I began our life together and everything was wonderful! She was doing great in her training classes, was making friends, and was a happy, healthy, energetic,
and and adorable puppy! She even learned to play the piano! Nine months later Bailey was diagnosed with Squamous Cell Carcinoma, a skin cancer. She required surgery to remove a large
portion of her bottom lip, and follow up treatment which could have crippled me financially. Fortunately for both of us, the policy that I had in place for Bailey was a life saver!
My vet faxed all the forms and receipts directly to them on my behalf, and they covered quite a bit of Bailey's surgery and follow up care! Since then, they have continued
to cover portions of much of her routine care, and have always been prompt in their reimbursement of covered expenses. I've now had Bailey and that policy for almost two years...
I have recommended Pet Insurance to many people and I continue to do so! I believe so much in the importance of Pet Insurance, that even though I am currently unemployed
and have been out of work for nearly a year now, I recently purchased a second policy to cover a kitten that I rescued from the engine of my car! Believe it or not, this
kitten was hiding under the hood of my car and apparently drove with me over 90 miles round trip before deciding to come out!! I was shocked that she had survived, especially since she was so young and so tiny!
I never thought I was a "cat person", but very soon after finding her, I could not help but fall in love with this brave and beautiful baby I knew that after all she went
through to "find me" she was meant to be mine. To my delight, the kitten, aptly named "Smude" and Bailey immediately fell in love as well and have become inseparable!
They play together, sleep together, and are a constant source of joy, laughter, and love for me! So, even though I am living on un-employment wages, I could not turn my
back on this kitten, nor could I take any chances with her health! I am happy to say that she is a very happy, playful, and quickly growing kitten, who I recently had
spayed and have already been reimbursed for the covered portion by my pet insurance provider!
Kim and Madison
I would like to start by saying... WOW and thanks to the creators of Pet Health Insurance. I work in the animal health industry, I have been a registered vet tech for 14 yrs. I am also certified in canine physical therapy, and thus see alot of critical injured pets that require long term rehabilitation. I have several patients with pet insurance, and by having it the owners where able to offer their furry family member very advanced care.. Such as an underwater treadmill for dogs.
This is where my story of my own dog (aka..furry child) begins.. Since I was in the animal field, I decided when I adopted this 10 mos old, petite rottweiler that I would certainly get health insurance for her. Well, it did not take long for me to get a chance to submit my first large claim.. She tore all the ligaments in her left knee at 3 1/5 yrs and required surgery, and then she would need rehab. Almost two years to the day, she blew out her right knee, back to surgery. Healing was going great until day 7 post -op, slipped on the floor, tore a different ligament in the knee. Back surgery we went.... Then, over the period of the next 8 months or so, she develop draining tracks from the surgery site... One year to the date, after several attempts to get the infection fully cleared away.. back to surgery we went..
Her boby was rejecting the metal crimps used during her ACL repair.. Five days post-op (May 08), she was healing great. Late fall 08, I hear a clicking coming from her RT knee... great torn meniscus...back to surgery we go.... Well, by now she is seven years old and what else could go wrong...
Aug 09 - I noticed a lump on over her right hip... the doctor felt it was attached to her anal gland - with her breed, age and sex - there was a good chance it was something bad.... an anal gland adenoma... or even worst an malignant verson... so back to surgery we go... 2 hours and 20 min to debride and remove this mass.. Then the wait game for the results. The morning following surgery, Madison breaks for a very high fever 41.5, vomiting and cannot walk.. Rushed to the hospital, placed on IV fluids, with 5 different heavy duty meds being given every 4 hours via her IV port.
She gets worst overnight.. I get zero sleep.. Then she begins to swell.. she develops pitting edema all over her body ( picture memory foam). Now, one thing about Madison - she is a very outgoing happy, super friendly little dog... She was so painful with all the swelling, she was miserable.
Poor little girl. It took 4 days for Madison to get better...
If it had not been for her health insurance... I am not sure I could have made the easy choices I did when it came to her sudden critical care needs. THANK YOU !!!!
Liz and Batman
My little cat, Batman, is incredibly sweet and very loving, and he means the world to me. He's a bit of a scaredy-cat...in some ways he's delicate little guy. He's a rescue kitty, like almost all of my cats, and so many who came before him were plagued with chronic and serious illnesses. I was certain when I adopted Batman at 12 weeks that he would be a healthy and happy boy. He was a happy kitten and loved to play, and he made funny, charming grunting type noises when he drank...he seemed to sound congested sometimes, most notably after drinking and while purring, and he occasionally would 'try' to vomit with little or nothing coming up. The vet thought he probably had hairballs, since he's a longhair. But he was still young, and not yet at the age where his hair was very long, so I was skeptical about hairballs and made sure I kept my eye on him.
One morning I woke up a little earlier than usual because I had a vet appointment for one of my other cats...and it was a lucky thing that we had that appointment. I awoke to find Batman unconscious, and he was unresponsive to my moving him or even picking him up. I was terrified that he'd fallen and hurt his spine or brain, because some of the signs I saw reminded me of neurological problems that some of my other cats had suffered. As I was putting Batman in the carrier to take him to the vet I noticed he had some poop stuck to him...this 'episode', whatever it was, had caused loss of bowel control. It seemed very silly and unwise, as time was of the essence, but something made me clean the poop off of him. This brief cleaning activity, fortunately, woke him up. I realized later, and confirmed with the vet, that it was lack of oxygen to his brain that had caused his collapse...who knows how close he was to suffering permanent damage or even dying had it not been for cleaning up that poop?!
I couldn't imagine what was going on! I had notified the vet that we were on our way, but I noticed Batman didn't want to move, although he was able to (so at least he wasn't paralyzed), and he was breathing very, very rapidly and was clearly in distress. Once at the clinic, the vet soon determined that Batman has asthma. He thought that a steroid injection and some antibiotics would have Batman feeling a lot better by the end of the day, but not only was Batman not feelikng a lot better, he was not ANY better at all and had been placed in an oxygen cage.
Batman spent a total of three days and two nights in an oxygen cage. On the second day the vet finally heard the congestion-type sounds that I'd been hearing intermittently and administered anitibiotics for pneumonia/bronchitis, one of which Batman evidently had on top of his asthma. He started to make a speedy recovery. I cannot express the relief and gratitude I felt.
Over the next several weeks as we monitored and medicated Batman with steroids, and started him on inhaled steroids and inhaled bronchodilators, we came to see that he is not your garden-variety asthmatic; Batman is a severe asthmatic. He requires considerably more medication than most asthmatic cats, some of which is very expensive. He requires a minimum of 4 vet visits per year for monitoring because thusfar, over a year later, we have not been able to take him off of prednisolone, which can cause damage to some organs in the body. But if he can't breathe his other organs aren't very useful...so we must continue with the medication regimen.
Throughout all of this, I've never had concerns about the thousands of dollars Batman's veterinary care costs, and have been able to provide him with excellent veterinary care whenver it's needed. I'm able to focus my energy on keeping him happy and feeling as well as possible. Without pet insurance, I would be bankrupt (and I might not even have been able to keep him). That isn't an overstatement, it's a fact. You see, I've been using pet insurance since 1998, after two of my cats developed cancer at the same time. I have never been without pet insurance since then, insuring all six of the cats I've been fortunate to have in my life since that time. In fact, I purchase a policy on the same day I adopt (and I always recommend that to anyone I know who is adopting or otherwise bringing a new a pet into their family). Pet insurance hasn't merely "come in handy" during a few incidents here and there; it is an integral part of my life, and that of my family.
Kitties with serious illnesses seem to find their way to me...or call to me and tell me when to come to the shelter and adopt them! The kitten I adopted the year before I adopted Batman was a magnificant little female kitten...perhaps the sweetest I've ever met. But within a short time, she developed the 'dry' form of FIP, and was hospitalized several times, including ER visits, during bouts of very high fever and strange gastrointestinal symptoms. My vet ran countless tests on her because the fever and GI problems could have been due to any number of things, and Zuzu showed no signs of FIP aside from the fever. She ultimately had to undergo diagnostic surgery to determine whether she had cancer (treatable) or FIP (untreatable). Just as she was recovering from the surgery, and as we received the test results confirming she had FIP, her disease turned to the 'wet' form. It was so heartbreaking.... But she had the best veterinary care possible and she was comfortable and happy, up until about the last 24 hours of her life when the FIP went rampant. Pet insurance allowed us to provide her with nearly eight months of comfort, happiness, and a generally great life.
Prior to Zuzu, my cat Casper had many illnesses...he had severe allergies (airborne and food), severe inflammatory bowel disease with recurrent liver involvement, and he had heart disease which progressed to severe heart failure. For six years he lived a happy, contented, loving life - he loved everyone he ever met, and it didn't matter how sick he was - if he saw a human, he was happy! It wasn't unusual for Casper to be at the vet clinic once a week or more in the last several years of his life, and he benefitted greatly from the most excellent care available. The severity of his heart failure even reversed to a large degree, due to not only the high quality of veterinary care he received, but also his individual spirit...this type of reversal is something that is extremely rare. There are no words to express how much those contented, happy years meant and continue to mean to me, every day. All of this was possible because of pet insurance.
Prior to Casper, my 16 year old cat Otter developed an intraspinal lesion which caused hind-end paralysis. But strangely, during that time she was the happiest she'd ever been in her entire life. She loved being at the clinic during the day while I was at work, and she loved the staff at the oncology clinic where she went for radiation treatments. She would talk to them every time they'd walk past her. Never in her life had she ever had much interest in anyone other than me and our vet, yet during this time she reached out to all people and enjoyed them. Again, this special time for her was possible because of pet insurance.
My story here is really about Batman, but I wanted to include this history of those who came before him, because they are all tied in with each other. Batman was only 8 months old when I awoke to find him unconscious and unresponsive...it nearly scared the very life out of me. Thank goodness his asthma is treatable, and with the veterinary care and medication that pet insurance allows me to provide him, he could very well live a normal lifespan. And it's up to me to make sure it's a happy and contented life!
Meg and Heimdall
Just as Heimdall, our beloved deaf Great Dane, is part of our immediate family, I've come to think of my pet insurance people as extended family. In 2002 I agreed to keep seven-month old Heimdall just for a few days for Houston Great Dane Rescue while they performed a home check on someone who might be interested in adopting him. It took less than three hours for him to become the poster boy for a "failed foster." We knew he was special and not just because of his hearing disability. I don't think my husband or I has ever met a kinder, gentler soul and it was obvious early on that Heimdall had but to lay his head on our shoulder to get whatever he wanted. Yes, we may have spoiled him, but he returned that favor a hundredfold with all the love and devotion his 145 lb. body could give.
Working with Great Dane rescue here in Denver and having them in my life for years taught us the importance of maintaining pet insurance coverage. With big dogs usually comes big bills, which is why we strongly recommend pet insurance to all our adoptive families. Little did I know how true that would be when we took Heimdall in to our regular vet for a persistent cough we knew wasn't kennel cough. In November 2008, what started as an upper respiratory infection progressed to recurring pneumonia progressed to a bacteria that mutated each time we tried a new antibiotic.
We'd done the usual paying of premiums for years without actually needing the insurance, not that I'm complaining. It's how we all wish it will go forever. However, within the space of six months, all our expense and effort was repaid in ways we'd never imagined. After two courses of antibiotics failed to keep the cough away, our vet referred us to Wheat Ridge Animal Hospital, staffed with specialists in all areas of veterinarian medicine. The vet we saw there is one of the best respiratory doctors in the country and we waltzed in, confident we'd have this thing licked in no time. Our optimism became months of trying one antibiotic after another, included countless lung x-rays and three bronchoscopies. At one point, we were paying over $300 a day for the "big guns" antibiotic, fighting both staph and e-coli bacterias which had settled in Heimdall's lungs. It was at this point that we realized the value of not only having pet insurance, but the added drug and dental benefit we'd decided to purchase with it. The vet visits and procedures were high enough. But, it was the prescriptions required to keep Heimdall healthy that really ran the bill up. Between November 2008 and May 2009 our pet insurance company had paid our maximum annual benefit of $10,000. Only a small portion of that would have been covered without the added drug plan. Not only did they pay the bills I submitted in a timely manner, but we always got the feeling the staff cared as much about what happened with Heimdall as we did. Our communications via email were peppered with queries as to how the handsome boy was doing and letting me know everyone in the office was rooting for him.
As hard as this is to write, as Heimdall left us earlier this month, I feel like I need to let everyone know that if your pet is important to you, then pet insurance should be just as important. We would have done anything to get Heimdall the treatment he needed and having insurance meant not having to take out a second mortgage or even selling our house, but more importantly, gave us many extra months with our beautiful baby boy, which really is priceless. It's just that simple.
Tara and Daphne
We had found our beautiful cat Daphne as a 4 month old kitten at our local humane society. She was so beautiful with her medium multi color fur and big puffy tail we knew we just had to have her!
We had received a free 30 day trial period of vet insurance from there, so we went to our local vet, got her all checked out and started our 30 day trial. Our local vet talked with us a bit more about
the benefits of vet insurance, and I figured, what the heck, $20 a month? May as well, I won't even know its gone as it gets taken out of my bank every month automatically.
About 3 years went by and I hadn't needed to use it, which of course like everyone, had me started thinking... is it worth it? After a lot of thinking I decided yes, something just might happen.
Only a few short months after that we went on a family trip and left our little princess with my parents. The day we left we got a phone call saying she was not herself, but they would monitor her. A
few days went by and the sickness and lazing around of her continued, we all agreed they must take her to the vet. That night by parents took miss Daphne to the vet to get her checked out,
did an x-ray and she had eaten hair elastics! Yes! Hair elastics! Daphne got rushed over to an emergency pet hospital and had to get surgery, of course you can imagine the cost of that! Between
our local vet and the hospital it was about $3800! $3800 it cost us for our cat to eat $2.00 elastics.. wow...Happy ending though!
Daphne made a full recovery and we were so glad we had vet insurance
to cover a very large portion of that cost! A low monthly fee, straight out of the bank, and very quick reimbursement cheque! I swore to myself 2 things after that.... #1 is to never
take my vet insurance off my cat and #2 is to hide my hair elastics!
Sheila and Lucy
On a Friday in March 2005 my boyfriend and I went to the Winnipeg Humane Society to adopt a dog. We had lost our two beloved dogs within a month of each other the previous year and our home seemed empty without a dog in it. We decided we were coming home with a dog that day no matter what. I had waited until the first day of my vacation so I could spend some time with our new pet before going back to work. I knew I wanted a larger, older dog because they are the hardest to place. In the back of my mind I thought if there is one there with “eyebrows” that is who I am bringing home. As I walked down the kennel aisle I spotted a black and white mutt with brown eyebrows and spots. We learned Lucy was only 7 1/2 months old but already over 50 lbs. My heart was already set on her. I was in love.
We brought her home that night and she quickly became a beloved member of our family. She is a very active dog and loves to play ball, chase a laser pointer, and swim. As part of her adoption fee she came with six weeks free pet insurance. When the six weeks were up I renewed her policy. I am so glad I did. In May 2006 she ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in her left hind leg. She could put no weight on it at all and was hobbling around on three legs. When the vet diagnosed the injury she said there was an operation to correct the problem but it cost around $3000. I booked the surgery immediately and was so glad I had the peace of mind knowing I had insurance coverage for her. She healed very well and the leg was like new.
The vet had told me that some people who couldn’t afford the surgery opted for amputation. It’s a good thing we had the option of the surgery because in September her acl was ruptured in her right leg! She healed extremely well from the second TPLO (tibial plateau leveling osteotomy) and she is as good as new once again.
Lucy also has been diagnosed with arthritis and is on special joint mobility food (very expensive) daily glucosamine tablets and metacam for pain relief. She also receives a cartrophen shot every couple months.
Despite her health issues Lucy continues to be an active dog and is a joy to have in the family. We have since added another dog and cat to the mix and she gets along well with both of them. We love her dearly and could not imagine life without her. We are so grateful for the insurance plan which allowed us to treat her without worrying about the cost of her medicine and surgeries.
Patty, Steve and Ducati
Pet insurance helped turn the first 48 hours with our newly adopted shelter dog from tragedy to triumph. We adopted our new five year old Sharpei/Collie mix from the Sarasota Humane Society on the Saturday after Thanksgiving 2008. He was happy on the drive home and on our first walk around the neighborhood with our other dog. But just as we were preparing to take his photo to send to friends and introduce him to our cat, he bolted on us and escaped the yard. Not knowing us, our house or the neighborhood we were trying everything we could to get him back We searched desperately for hours by foot, car, scooter, with treats, called the Humane Society and animal services, asked everyone we saw and put up signs with our one photo but to no avail. We barely slept and resumed the search early in the morning and then received the phone call confirming our worst fears. Our brand new pet had been hit by a car and brought to the emergency vet by animal services.
Having known the dog for less than an hour we didn't know how he'd react but he came to us and let me hold his head in my lap. We were told he showed no signs of internal bleeding but did have several abrasions and extensive bruising as well as his worst injury a cracked pelvis. He would need to stay one more night and then could be taken to our vet for more exams and x-rays. For the care at that point we were given a bill for slightly over $1,000.
We then remembered the pet insurance policy that our adoption specialist at the Humane Society had told us about. A thirty day free policy was included with our adoption with coverage of up to $750. With this enormous financial assistance we were able to pay the remainder of the bill in full, rather than carry a costly credit card balance, and brought our new dog home again on the following Monday. He is now renamed to "Ducati" after a very fast and expensive brand of motorcycle. After six weeks of R & R at home he is fully recovered, as you can see from his photo happily at the top of a staircase. We were thrilled with the pet insurance coverage we were given and certainly plan to renew and we look forward to many happy and healthy years with our newest family member.
Jodi and Chance
The reason I got pet insurance was because of an experience without pet insurance. Baxter was my 7 year old Golden Retriever who all of a sudden became sick. He had stopped eating for a few days and I took him to my vet. He was at the vet for 3 days when they found a mass in his belly. I rushed him to a major surgical vet hospital where i was told my treatment options. We did not pursue any treatment for Baxter because of the severity of the illness. While I was paying the bill, I thought "I am going to look into pet insurance, because I don't want to ever compromise my pets health for lack of money". I had spent over $1200 on diagnostic tests.
So I researched pet insurance on the internet and compared the different companies. I had pet insurance for the day I picked up my new boy.
Our new boy, Chance, took full advantage of having coverage. Chance has not gone too long without incident. We have had surgery for a luxating patela, skin irritations, ingesting rat poison, mange, spider bite, allergies and intestinal distress. While he was getting his knee surgery, I asked every owner I met in the hospital if they had pet insurance and they all did not. I felt like the smartest pet owner around
I have told every pet owner I meet that I have pet insurance and that it was the best decision I ever made for my pets health. My pet insurance company is affordable, easy to use and contact them if needed. Refunds are prompt and I have never had an issue.
I love my pet insurance company and will never have a pet without it.
The Stott Family's Gizmo
Gizmo, who will be 5 in January, is a loving, energetic and brilliant Brussels Griffon (we think probably Cairn Terrier Cross) we call him our Velcro Dog. When we took Gizmo to our Vet for his initial checkup they recommended that we invest in Pet Insurance. We are thankful everyday for that decision. Gizmo was what we called a Frequent Flyer at his Vet the first two years of his life. He has endured every thing from serious stomach issues, multiple allergy symptoms and severe infections that eventually led to surgery and very large bills. With out the aid of our pet insurance policy we never would of been able to care for him in the manner he needed to be cared for properly. We have been blessed with the knowledge that if he needs medical attention we can always provide it. Now that he is doing better we continue with his policy. We have the peace of mind knowing that even if we have unexpected bumps along the way he will always be taken care of. Moving forward our Velcro Dog can go on being his brilliant, energetic, loving self.
Bobbie and Kirby
My Bernese Mountain Dog, Kirby, started limping in the late fall of 2006. He was obviously in a lot of pain. We took him to our regular vet who sent us to a vet internist. The vet internist did a variety of tests but could not determine what the problem was. So our wonderful 7 year old Berner was in pain and a month later, we were no closer to solving the problem. A cruciate ligament tear, cancer etc.. had all been ruled out. We had spent a small fortune on diagnostic tests to that point. Luckily, I had gotten pet health insurance on all of three of my dogs. I submitted the claims quickly and received reimbursements just as fast. We decided to take him to the University of WI Vet School up in Madison, Wisconsin. In one day of tests, they determined that he indeed had cancer, hystiocytic sarcoma and they suspected he only had about 6 weeks to live. They recommended amputating the leg where the tumor was. Without the amputation, he had an even grimmer prognosis. I could not put him down and didnt want him to continue to suffer as he had been, so we went through with the amputation. When we picked him up from the hospital 5 days later, he came out walking on 3 legs like he had done so all his life. I threw him a dog biscuit and he caught it in his mouth! You would think the initial pain of amputation would be similar to the pain of the tumor but he barely needed anymore pain killers afterward. And instead of living 6 more weeks, we had him 8 additional, wonderful months! He was his old, happy self up until the very end. We knew during those 8 months that he wouldnt be with us that long, that the cancer would eventually return and he would succumb to it, so we cherished everyday that we had with him. Pet health insurance helped us figure out ultimately what the issue was and then helped us have him with us for an additional 8 months. 8 months that I will cherish for the rest of my life.
Rochelle and Molly
Molly isn't a poodle, not really. She was the second dog we adopted from Poodle Rescue of New England. But she doesn't look like a poodle or act like a poodle, even though her breeder registration says she's a cock-a-poo. She looks more like a cross between a cocker spaniel and a chihuahua. And that's part of the reason we adopted her. We didn't figure many people looking at a poodle rescue website would be interested in such a non-poodle looking dog. When we read that she had a BB gun pellet embedded in her side, that had been surgically removed, well, that just melted my husband and he declared she was the one.
Molly, it turned out when we met her, was a little different from most dogs. She has a fairly severe underbite which makes eating an adventure for her. And, if you look closely you can tell that one eye is smaller than the other. But these differences are not a medical problem. However, this summer she had a medical problem that made us really glad we had bought insurance for her. You see, Molly is a mutant.
Molly developed a hard, claw-like growth in the middle of her right front paw, between the pads. It bothered her so much that she had licked the surrounding pads raw. The "claw" had to be removed. Our veterinarian said she had only seen this particular condition one other time in twenty years of practice. Molly had her surgery and we paid a huge bill, not sure if the insurance company would cover it. Money was tight that month, but we had to do our best for our newest member of the family. Lo and behold, four weeks later we got a check that covered most of the charges. We breathed a sigh of relief as we paid the credit card bill and as Molly recovered fully.
Molly is back to bouncing on her back feet, greeting me with jumps and kisses and whole-heartedly chasing her poodle brother Frankie.
Diane and Moca
This is our chocolate lab Moca. We purchased her in Sussex, N.B. Canada. She was born July 9, 2002 and we puchased her on September 8th and the breeder, at that time, gave us 3 months free insurance. We had never insured a pet before but thought it would be a good idea maybe to continue to insure her.
When we got her home I noticed she was having some difficulty going up and down the stairs when we let her out to pee at night. When she was due to go in to have her operation to be fixed my husband started to notice that her back legs seem to shifting funny when she walked. We had the vet check her out because our insurance covered this and they found that she had severe hip dysplasia when they xrayed her. My husband was devastated as he wanted her for a hunting dog. Due to having the pet plan we could have her checked out by the vets with little cost to us. This dog has been through a lot over the past 7 years as she now has allergies and has had to be checked for this also and the vet put her on special food(fish and sweet potatoe- no grains, that cost about $8l.00, which our insurance will pay for one bag a year.
All these problems haven't stopped Moca. Even though he couldn't use her for hunting, she make a good house pet. She's a feisty dog and strong as a bull. When she sits she is a little lop sided but such a sweet face. She takes her glucosamine, which she has been taking since she was 8 months old, as the vet suggested we put her on that to help her hips. When it comes to meal time she can jump with the best of them for her supper. I walk her twice a day to get her out of the house and it does me good too.
We are both starting to slow down as we get older but having her in the house is great company even when she wakes us up in the middle of the night because she thought she saw something out the front door. Our doors are all glass so she can see everything that goes on. At one time I put curtains on the doors but she would just push them aside so she could see out. Pretty smart hey....
Well that's our story. Hope you enjoy the pic of Moc, she is really a sweet dog.
Casie & Phoenix
Phoenix is my baby and I'd do anything for her, she's like a spoiled child and that will never change! Phoenix started eating grass and it was very upsetting for me to watch her getting sick from it. I got her into the vet as soon as possible to find out what was going on. They did some initial testing and gave her some fluids and a couple of other "goodies" until the test results were in. She had a rough couple of days but she was feeling better - but the results weren't great. Phoenix had elevated levels of bile acids and more testing needed to be done. These next set of tests came back with similar results as the first set and they sent Phoenix for an ultra sound. I am happy to report that they didn't find what they were looking for in the ultrasound but Phoenix is still on medication. We are hopefully winding down to the end of the process but I still have more test at the end of the month. Cross your fingers for me. If it wasn't for my pet insurance I would not have been able to have all the tests as easily as I could knowing that my insurance company was going to help me. Pet insurance was one of the best decisions I ever made!
Gary & Gail's Bullies
Here is a pic taken July 28, 2009 of our Bullies; Abigail Anne McGee and Bobby Bruce McGee. She is 7 months old and he is 13 months old. When we first brought Bobby McGee home he had Kennel Cough which subsequently turned into Pneumonia and we were very happy that we had insured him with pet insurance because we were able to claim back 80% of the Veterinary bills. We now have both of our Bullies insured and we can sleep well at night knowing that they are protected. Bravo and thumbs up to Petsecure for the service they provide.
Britt's Rawko
It was just a couple of days after Christmas and we had only had lil Rawko for two months. We noticed he was acting very strange and not his usual energetic self. We were quite alarmed and I was on the verge of tears when we rushed him to the emergency vet clinic. Turned out he got into a package of halls and his little body could not handle it. We are a young couple and do not have a lot of extra money on hand. Especially for a costly trip to the emergency pet clinic. Luckily when we got Rawko the shelter where we picked him up gave us a 6 month free trial of pet insurance. It was amazing how quickly we got some of our money refunded especially around the holiday season. It was awesome. And even better that our little buddy made it through just fine. Rawko is a Boston Terrier/Chihuahua.
Kathy's Greyhounds
I have two rescued greyhounds that I acquired pet insurance for when I adopted them several years ago. I got the insurance because we had a dog and he was hit by a car, we did not have pet insurance for him, he turned out to be OK, but the vet bill was very painful!!
Luckily I have not had to use the insurance often but I have had two occasions where having it was definitely a benefit. We were walking in the off leash park and my greyhound was attacked by a muskrat, she was bleeding badly in her mouth, so I took her to the vet and she had to be sedated and get 4 stitches in her mouth, pet insurance covered all the costs but my deductible! I started telling all my friends that they should get pet insurance and then I had a friend call me and say "Why didn’t I listen to you!!" Their 2 year old border collie got hurt by running into a corner of a trailer, and this was not the first time he had gotten hurt when he was a puppy he needed surgery on his knee, so between the two incidents they paid the vet thousands of dollars, which would have been covered had they had pet insurance. I recently had to take my greyhound in because she broke her dew claw, again the cost was covered, it gives me peace of mind knowing that I don’t have to worry about the cost associated with taking my dogs to the vet if they need it. I am sure my friend agrees with me and will be signing up soon!!
Cherie and Digit
In September of 2008 my one year old cat, Digit who never misses a meal didn’t come home. I looked everywhere for him; I emailed neighbors; hung up flyers and checked our local Humane Society but there was no sign of him. After being gone four days we heard a meowing in our backyard. Digit was home! However he was in rough shape. He couldn’t put any weight on his back right leg and he had a bad laceration on his lip. The next day I took him to our vet who advised his injuries were consistent with being hit by a car. In spite of a having a broken pelvis Digit somehow managed to drag himself home. The vet was worried the misalignment of his pelvis would prevent Digit from passing bowel movements. As well, left to heal on its own, he would eventually get arthritis in his pelvis. My options were 1) leave the pelvis misaligned to heal on its own and watch to ensure he could pass bowel movements or 2) take him to a specialist 1 ½ hours away for surgery. Time was of the essence as the pelvis was already starting to fuse in its current possession.
My husband and I decided since Digit was so young and had so much life ahead of him and because we had insurance, we would go ahead with the surgery. In total, our vet bills were $4,073.22 . The surgeon removed the fractured bones from Digit’s pelvis and was able to realign his spine to about 80%. Because of this, Digit will not suffer arthritis or any other complications from the accident.
Without the insurance we would not have been able to afford the surgery for Digit. It was such a stressful time. I was so worried about Digit and it was a relief I didn’t have to worry about where the money was going to come from to help him get better. My claims experience was amazing. After submitting all the completed forms my claim was paid within 15 days.
Today, Digit is a healthy, happy active cat. Watching him walk you would never know what he went through a year ago.
Kerry and Buddy
My dog Buddy is an adorable little pom that I got second hand from a custodian who couldn't keep him, since he was provoking his much larger cat. Very soon I realized that poor Buddy had breathing problems and after several specialist visits and several thousand dollars it was discovered he had severe allergies. Although I knew this condition and his medication wouldn't be covered by insurance, since it was a pre-existing condition, it convinced me that insurance was essential. I never wanted to have to choose between my dog and my finances. Since then, Buddy has been neutered, had knee surgery, been treated for eating rotten watermelon, been treated for epilepsy: all of these things were thankfully covered by my pet insurance (along with regular check-ups, which are also covered under my plan). Hardly a summer has gone by where I didn't have to rush Buddy to the emergency vet. I was so pleased with my pet insurance, that when I rescued Bella, an eight year old pom, I had her put on an insurance plan immediately. This insurance not only covered the dental work she desperately needed, but also the midnight trip to the vet when she picked a fight with Buddy (I wasn't really sure which one won, but Bella was certainly the one who was worse for wear). The challenges of owning a smaller breed dog are difficult, but pet insurance has allowed me the ability to care for these sweet little dogs who seem plagued by health problems and obstinately determined to hurt themselves. They are adored by my nieces and nephews, and make my day brighter, making them well worth all the troubles.
Lisa and Nelke Daisy
We adopted our "furry sister", Nelke Daisy from Enstone Kennels, Mission, BC, when she was just 8 weeks old. She is a beautiful, purebred Bernese Mountain Dog with a gentle heart and a giant personality! Daisy came to us with complimentary pet insurance, which we chose to renew once the trial period had ended. Daisy is a very healthy dog who needs only see the veternarian for regular check ups and shots. However, the first year of her life wasn't quite so simple. Thankfully, our pet insurance covered the extensive testing and investigation required to diagnose Daisy with Inflammatory Bowel Disorder - an inherited illness. With a carefully vetenarian prescribed diet, Daisy is now 5 years old and symptom free! We are very thankful for the peace of mind insurance gives us for times when medical advice is needed.
Lillian and Ezmie
At 3 years old Ezmie the Dobe suffered her first cruciate injury which lead us to several clinics, x-rays etc., until we finally ended up at the Alta Vista hospital in Ottawa where Ezmie had TPLO surgery on her right leg.
Ezmie the Dobe also suffers with environmental allergies -- dust, grass, pollen etc., which causes her to have ear infections, rashes and she gets so itchy she wants to eat herself -- not pretty. So while she was in for cruciate surgery the clinic’s awesome Dermatologist had a look at her and did some testing the results of which are the aforementioned allergies. However, prior to treating Ezmie for environmental allergies, food allergies had to be eliminated as the culprit so a long line of clinic food was consumed by Ezmie during this time.
A year passes and the end result is that Ezmie has to take antibiotics for the remainder of her life because of her wide variety of allergies and antibiotics will help treat the gamut.
At the same time Ezmie has to have TPLO on her left cruciate because it is now torn from overcompensating during the healing of the right cruciate surgery.
We live in Sudbury so trips to Guelph and Ottawa were costly but nothing compared to what the cost would’ve been for Ezmie’s medical care without PET INSURANCE. The insurance company paid without blinking for the procedures. Without pet insurance we would have paid $8,000 plus out of pocket. As well, the pet insurance will help pay for the on-going cost of antibiotics until we reach the maximum benefit for that ailment. The staff is always helpful and friendly when we call and we tell anyone that will listen to get pet insurance as it is worth every penny spent. Pet insurance is a definite plus and there is a wide range of options to choose from.
Thanks to our pet insurance policy we were able to get the best possible care for Ezmie and she is now running and swimming again.
